Dear Sho-kun, I’d have you know that I stopped downloading shows and dramas a long time ago and preferred streaming instead because it’s kinder on my hard drive but for you, I will gladly DL. What are external drives for?

So yeah, I finally managed to catch up with KAZOKU GAME ahead of this week’s finale. Yoshimoto-sensei–or is it Tago Yudai??–I’m ready!

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I find it interesting that episode 9 talked a lot on how people cope with stress.

Numata Shinichi, the ideal son who is an honor student and outstanding athlete, copes with stress by shoplifting and vandalizing teachers’ property.

Okasan, Numata Kayoko (played by Suzuki Honami, the wife of none other than Ishibashi Takaaki aka Taka-san, he of Utaban), pretends her youngest is not a delinquent student (among other self-denials) and plays in the stockmarket both as revenge and sign of rebellion towards her family. Then she goes traveling to “escape”.

When the family breaks down, they each cope with the stress by destroying anything they could get a hold of (in Kayoko’s case, the precious china and in Shinichi’s case, his medals and trophies) in that what-the-effing-scene that leaves the once-pretty house in shambles. That was a good symbolism of the chaos that’s actually been bubbling beneath the surface and now has been totally exposed for all to gawk or cringe at (because I did cringe seeing all that pretty Muji-like furniture being destroyed just like that).

The real Yoshimoto Koya, played by Oshinari Shugo who has been typecast in hateful roles–and I mean once you see him onscreen, you know he’s up to no good–copes with stress by bullying a young student and a fellow teacher.

Can we then say that Tago Yudai’s stress-coping mechanism is by pretending to be Yoshimoto-sensi, perhaps hoping that by doing so, he could exonerate some ugly memories and “save” his and someone else’s destruction?

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It was initially confounding to see a tutor with his unconventional teaching methods making you question his motives. From episode 1 to 9, it has been a journey of twists and turns.  This drama has been so unpredictable but props to it for highlighting a social problem that is hidden behind “ideal” homes and “friendly” characters. And it would be wrong to reduce KAZUKO GAME into a drama only about bullying because it’s actually a portrayal of a society that’s falling apart. We live in stressful times, even if we also live in modern times that brought us a lot of convenience. It would have been simple to think that the more we make advancements, the less stressful our lives would be, but that simply isn’t the truth. The drama, while highlighting the effects of bullying on a family and society,  takes a look at how attitudes of people contribute to the erosion of morals in society. And there are moments that it forces us to confront ourselves, our inner thoughts and the stress that we deal with.

Which brings me to the whole point of this post–aha, it’s not just about the drama.

So how do we cope with stress? Here’s my list:

I used to play Candy Crush but I’m stuck at Level 65 (yeah, I suck) and I have semi-given up, only playing the game when I have nothing else to do because it just stresses me more that I can’t get past bloody 65.

If I’m in the middle of work, I plug my earphones in and just drown the outside world in Arashi at full blast (I can’t listen to Jay Chou when I’m stressed unless it’s his earlier songs like Jian Dan Ai because his melody only depresses me more).

I visit San Diego’s live panda cam.

I visit some of my favorite YouTube channels focusing on pandas like doxiemom or mrpenta.

I cook. I’m not a great cook and I wouldn’t even dare feed others what I make in the kitchen but slicing ingredients can really take your mind off things.

I watch dramas. Aside from KAZOKU GAME, I am also watching LAST CINDERELLA and is now looking for what to watch next when these dramas end this week (which also means a drama cycle has ended and three months have passed… what, three months already?!).

I read… Sakumoto fan fiction. There was a time I wrote FFs for my ex-OTP, but gone are those days. I’ve written a few Sakumotos though but I enjoy reading more, especially those based on real life.

But of course: I watch Arashi variety shows. Yes, I can watch them all day and night if only I didn’t have to work or sleep or do the laundry or something.

And yes, I watch Arashi concert DVDs and is even given to singing along when the mood hits me, my neighbor be damned.

Oh, and I sleep.

Et tu, Sakurai Sho?

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Two more days before the KAZUKU GAME finale. While waiting, let’s have some RED tea in honor of Sho’s Arashi color (because I can’t decide how to rank this post and there’s no purple, so…).

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